Legendier A or Collection of Saints’ Lives in French

Copied in Italy in the early part of the fourteenth century, this collection of saints lives contains thirteen stories of the apostles followed by four martyrs’ stories. It was originally composed in northern France, perhaps Picardy, in the middle of the thirteenth century. The lives often include a narrative of each saint’s martyrdom, as well as extensive descriptions of the miracles performed by each saint. This collection of saint’s lives seem to follow Latin hagiographic models generally.

The manuscript copyist explains that he made the copy while in prison, and the iconography is distinctly Italian. Scholars believe the work was done somewhere in northern Italy, in either Genoa or Pisa.

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